I get a lot of questions from potential job seekers about what type of job offer to expect when they make a move. “What is a good job offer?”, “What is the current market rate for my skills and experience?”, “What will company X pay me?”

The short answer is, your offer will reflect what you are worth. And right now, for professional positions that require college degrees or greater, relevant experience, etc., that is just about a 5-10% increase in base compensation.

Do some people get more? Sure! Is it rare? YES! The reason for this “standard” level of increase is twofold:

First, supply and demand sets the price. Think back to Economics 101 in college. If demand is high and supply is low, price goes up. If supply suddenly increases relative to demand, price decreases. A given skill set and experience level comes with a pretty narrowly definable price point. Employers don’t wildly overpay for a skill set because they don’t need to. Conversely, they don’t underpay, otherwise people would leave for better pay elsewhere. Thus, the market has essentially set the rate for your skills and experience.

Second, that the average annual increase when you stay at the same employer is close to 2-3% annually, outside employers don’t need to create more of a financial incentive to attract talent. A 5-10% increase is actually quite generous when compared to what you can expect if you stay with your current employer!

Many people are surprised to hear this information. There is a common belief that a good job offer wildly increases your pay. It’s important to keep money in perspective. It really should not be a primary motivating factor when changing jobs! Making a career move should be motivated by better long term prospects, exposure to new skills and experiences, expanding your responsibility, etc. Money will always come to those who work hard and smart! Don’t let short term dollars cloud long term thinking!

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In my last post we covered how to create a strong LinkedIn profile (click here to see that post). I’ll now look at several ways to add LinkedIn connections. If you are already a regular LinkedIn user, you may know some of this information. That said, LinkedIn becomes exponentially more powerful as you add LinkedIn connections, so it’s not a bad idea to periodically use these methods to expand your network. LinkedIn is pretty user-friendly, so many of these methods are easy to figure out. If you have trouble, visit LinkedIn’s help page for great video tutorials, walkthroughs, and Q&A. Here are some of the main tools to add LinkedIn connections:

1) “Connect” and “Add Connections” Buttons — when you visit someone’s LinkedIn profile and you are not connected, the “Connect” button allows you to send them a request to become first degree contacts. The “Add Connections” button can be found on your own LinkedIn home page and it allows you to enter an email address which sends an invitation to that person to connect with you. FYI – LinkedIn frowns on blindly sending connection requests to people whom you don’t know. More on how to handle LinkedIn and connection etiquette later…

2) Sync Contacts — you can also import contacts from major email services like Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. If you click the “Add Connections” button on your home page, you’ll be able to enter your email type, username and password, and bulk import your contact database and send invitations to those people. It’s a quick and easy way to add a lot of connections very quickly.

3) “People You May Know” — on your LinkedIn home page, over on the right hand side you’ll see a section called People You May Know. This section is often overlooked by a lot of LinkedIn users, but it’s a handy way to add LinkedIn connections. The LinkedIn software finds a list of people who it assumes you may know based on shared connections, groups, interests, etc. Again, LinkedIn discourages people from blindly trying to connect with people. I often find people in here that I’ve lost touch with over time, have recently joined LinkedIn, old classmates, etc.

4) Introductions — as you peruse LinkedIn, if you come across a 2nd degree connection whom you’d like to connect with, you can send an introduction request to a contact person you share in common. You just have to click the “Get Introduced” button, pick the shared contact whom you’d like to make the introduction, and craft a message to both parties explaining the purpose of the connection request. We will cover more on how to craft LinkedIn messages in a future post.

5) Groups — groups are a huge part of LinkedIn. In short, they are closed communities that are focused around a specific area. Groups are a great way to add LinkedIn connections. It’s generally recommended that you join lots of groups that cover your professional area of interest, and participate actively in discussions in the group. You’ll be engaging with people in your space and be able to add many connections as a result.

6) Inmails — inmails are LinkedIn’s version of email within their platform. Inmails are an upgraded feature which you can purchase if you have a free account, or are given in small blocks to users with paid accounts. If you plan to network a lot on LinkedIn, a paid account is definitely worth looking into! Inmails allow the user to send a message to another LinkedIn user to whom they don’t have contact information. We will cover how to craft high quality inmail messages in a future post.

One last note on how to add LinkedIn connections — there are a couple of schools of thought on who you should add to your connections. One school of thought advocates “ADD EVERYBODY! THE MORE THE MERRIER!” Another approach is to only add people for whom you have some type of current/prior relationship. I suggest something in between. As you are building your network and have, say, less than 500 contacts you can add people pretty liberally. The more first degree contacts you have, the easier it is to get to second and third degree contacts you’ll want to meet. As your network grows to 500-1000+, you can become a lot more selective about who you add. If your network becomes too large, it can become difficult to manage and the quality of the contacts you have can be a bit diluted. Of course, it’s up to you and in the end and I’d ultimately recommend doing what works for you!

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If you are not already on LinkedIn, you should be. LinkedIn is hands down the #1 online application for managing professional contacts, and career / business related networking. It’s an invaluable tool whether you are actively looking for a job, or already have a great one.

In order to leverage LinkedIn effectively, it is essential to make a great LinkedIn profile. A great LinkedIn profile is one that thoroughly covers your education, skills, and work experience. In other words, it will look an awful lot like your resume. Here is a link to my public LinkedIn profile

The main things you want to include in your profile are: 1) Education and Degree(s) earned, 2) detailed work history with dates of employment and information about your job, 3) “buzzwords” specific to your work experience and skills. Nice to include information includes volunteer experience, interests, a professional picture, and “advice for contacting me” information. Over time, it’s also great to display personal recommendations written by other LinkedIn members (more on that later).

The good news is that LinkedIn has made creating or updating your profile very, very easy. When logged in to your profile, there is a wizard that will show you what sections are incomplete. You’ll note that on my profile, under each of my jobs held, I’ve included details about my specific work experience and accomplishments. Not as much information as you might find on my professional resume, but enough to give someone potentially interested in my background a pretty good idea of what I’ve done.

When you make a great LinkedIn profile, you’ll start to have a much more positive experience on LinkedIn. For one thing, the solicitations you receive for jobs or business partnership will generally be much more targeted and high quality. For example, we recently did a search for a great client that required extensive knowledge of specific accounting rule (ASC 605). When we plugged this variable into our LinkedIn search, we came up with a very small number of prospects, all of whom returned our emails about the search because we were sending them highly targeted messages. Secondly, when you use LinkedIn for networking purposes and you reach out to someone, you are far more likely to get a response when you have a professional and detailed profile that shows who you are.

In our next series on LinkedIn, we will discuss how to develop a powerful network. Stay tuned!

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In a hot market, you may find yourself balancing competing job opportunities. More and more, we are seeing skilled candidates find themselves in exactly this situation. While it may seem like a great problem to have, it can definitely make the decision making process more difficult. Here are a few things you can do to balance competing job opportunities.

Evaluate Competing Job Opportunities in a Vacuum – if you have two or more job opportunities coming your way, try to evaluate each on its own merits. Consider the factors that were important to you in the beginning of your job search (i.e. more responsibility, a better commute, a growing company, etc.). If one opportunity doesn’t stack up, dismiss it and don’t let it bog down your decision making process.

Look at Money Last – if you get competing job offers, look at money last. If two opportunities are very close in qualitative measures, looking at the financial compensation may tip the scales. However, don’t make a decision that is largely motivated by a slightly higher compensation package, where the opportunity itself is not as strong. If a second choice offer is substantially more money than first choice offer, you can always go back to the first choice potential employer and let them know that you’ve received a competing offer that is more money, but that you’d rather be working for them. They may not necessarily match it, but they might close the gap a bit and you’ll get to work at your first choice company.

Be Mindful of Timing – timing can be a big factor in a job search. One potential employer may not move as quickly as another. If you have two or more potential employers speaking with you, be open and honest about where you stand in the process with other suitors. Tell them how many interviews you’ve had, if you are expecting an offer, if you receive an offer, etc. When a potential employer finally makes you a job offer, they are generally going to want an answer quickly. You won’t have too much time to sit on the offer while you wait for another company to pull the trigger. It’s OK to hold a company’s feet to the fire a little in order to keep the process moving along.

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Resume formatting can make the difference between you getting an interview, or not. In today’s digital world resume formatting is vitally important to your job search efforts. Different computer systems, software versions, email programs, etc., can all cause your resume to look very awkward on the receivers end. Many companies now use resume parsing software programs that analyze resumes in bulk and score applicant matches based on computer algorithms. If a resume has too much formatting, it will be difficult or impossible to read sometimes by the intended recipient.

It is therefore vitally important that you keep your resume formatting to a bare minimum. You want your resume to look good, but you need it to be readable. Here are some basics on resume formatting:

Use a common and recent version of a word processing program when writing your resume (MS Word for example).

Don’t use tables and nested tables to separate different sections of your resume. When being scanned or reformatted in other programs, these tables can wreak havoc on the ability to parse information out of your resume.

Use a standard and common font like Times New Roman, Arial, Courier, etc. Don’t make the font size smaller than 10pt, or larger than 12pt for the content of your resume.

Be consistent with the use of bold and italic type. For example, if you choose to write your current job title in bold type, make sure ALL prior job titles are formatted the same way.

Avoid pictures, graphics, or avatars. I don’t see this often, but it’s worth mentioning that graphics don’t belong on your resume.

Check out my earlier post for some other tips on how to put together a great resume here

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A common piece of critical feedback I get from clients is that candidates are too vague when answering interview questions. People don’t give enough information, or just don’t directly answer the question asked. I was recently asked by someone how they can avoid this common interview pitfall. My advice:

Be Prepared – this should be obvious, but you need to go into an interview thoroughly prepared. This includes being able to talk in detail about your experience, about anything on your resume, to answer common interview questions, and answer/ask questions about the potential employer. Read through your own resume carefully before an interview. You’d be surprised how often I’ve heard about candidate’s who can’t answer questions about things on their own resume! Do your homework before the interview!

LISTEN To The Questions – not listening to questions is a pretty common mistake during interviews. Often times, people are excited and/or nervous and they fail to really listen to the question because their mind is racing. Listen carefully to the interviewer and ask for clarification if a question is unclear. Very specific questions require very specific answers. Conversely, broad “tell me about your background” questions require more broad answers with less detail.

Give Examples – whenever possible, it is best to answer questions with specific examples. For example, if asked, “how strong are you with technology?”, you would want to give an answer that demonstrates specific technical expertise. You might respond, “I’m very comfortable with technology. In fact, at my current job, I played a lead role in selecting and implementing a new ERP system which involved talking to several vendors, mapping out the system requirements with consultants, testing the new platform and training staff .” By giving someone a clear and specific example of work that required a strong degree of proficiency in the subject matter, you are sending the message that you know what you’re talking about.

Watch Body Language – If you think that you are off track when answering a question because the interviewer is yawning, rolling their eyes, looking at their watch, etc., stop yourself! It’s perfectly fine to say, “is that the information you were looking for?”, or, “am I off track? Can I be more specific?”. It’s far better to allow the interviewer to steer you back in the right direction than just plow through an answer.

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I find that a lot of candidates underestimate the importance of selling yourself in a job interview. It is especially important to sell yourself during the first interview. The interview process is analogous to the process of making a major purchase. The job seeker is the “product” and the hiring company is the “buyer”. As the “product”, it is vitally important to sell yourself and give the “buyer” cause to want to hire you. The “what’s in it for me” part of the interview process is important, but it is irrelevant if the employer is not strongly interested in hiring you. This post will cover a few methods and approaches to effectively sell yourself in the interview process.

Sell Yourself by Preparing— adequate preparation in the first key in how to sell yourself to a potential employer. A strong resume that targets the employer (click here to read my post on resume writing) is a good start. You’ll also want to do adequate research on the company when you land an interview. This could include thoroughly going through their website, LinkedIn company page, online profiles of the people with whom you’ll meet, etc.

Sell Yourself by Looking the Part— this includes all things that go into making a good first impression. Studies show that first impressions DO matter, so don’t start off on the wrong foot. First, I always recommend formal business attire. Conservative style suits for men, simple neck ties, and shined shoes. Get a hair cut if you need one, and shave/trim facial hair. For women, similar business attire is suggested. Avoid too much perfume, jewelry, etc. It’s pretty difficult to be overdressed, but being under dressed can be a disaster. That being said, times are changing, so depending on your specific field of expertise, or hiring company, it may be appropriate to dress more casually. Second, make sure you arrive to the interview on time. Map directions out in advance and budget extra time for traffic, delays, etc. If you arrive very early, review your notes and resume one last time before going in for the interview. I recommend that candidates arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before the interview. Too early can interrupt the schedule of the interviewer, so be considerate of their schedule too.

Sell Yourself by SELLING YOURSELF— to separate yourself from the competition, you need to highlight your skills, experience, and what value you will bring to the employer. This can be done in several ways. First, when you answer questions, make sure to reference specific examples of what you’ve done, specific results you’ve achieved, and accomplishments that highlight your value. For example, saving the company money, surpassing sales goals, finding more efficient ways of doing things, etc. Second, ask intelligent questions about the job and company. Demonstrate that you’ve done your due diligence and ask about specific facets of the job and company. Finally, don’t be afraid to “flip the question”. By this I mean to find ways to turn some questions into positive reasons to hire you. For example, if asked the classic “what’s your biggest weakness?” question, prepare an answer you can spin in a positive light. You might say, “my biggest weakness had been people management because I have not had experience doing this until recently… however, for the last 6 months I’ve been supervising a new hire and this person is excelling at what they do and I’ve been recognized by my department head as a strong mentor and manager for this person.” Finally, as the interview comes to an end, I suggest to job seekers that they tell the interviewer that they are very interested in the job and eager to keep the process going. Enthusiasm goes a long way in interviews and companies like to hire people who demonstrate genuine interest in the job and company.

Remember, to sell yourself early on in the interview process does not mean that the process is all about the employer. The job seeker also has to be convinced that the opportunity is a good one and that the company is solid. However, the employer has to want to employee you before any of this matters.

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I spoke with a contact yesterday who accepted a counter offer. Luckily for me, it was not a deal I was involved in. Unlucky for the candidate, he had no idea about the potential consequences and hazards of accepting a counter offer. Put bluntly, accepting a counter offer is a bad idea.

A counter offer is the equivalent of a band-aid on a gaping wound. At best, it is a short-term fix for the employer which buys them some time before the inevitable happens… that the person accepting the counter offer will leave. That’s right, the VAST majority of employees who accept a counter offer leave within six months. Employers know this, but a counter offer is often cheaper and easier than quickly replacing a good employee.

A counter offer generally consists of two things. First, a counter offer will include promises. The employee might be offered a promotion in six months, a bigger office, or told about “exciting changes” that are coming. Second, they might be offered money. Sometimes, it may seem like a lot more money. The candidate I referenced above was given a 20% base salary increase to stay! Big promises and more money sound good… right? If you get a counter offer, it’s important to remember that talk is cheap. The promises made are almost always empty ones. It’s easy to tell an employee things that they want to hear and never deliver. Especially since employers know that the employee is likely to leave anyway. As for money, while a 20% raise may sound great, it’s only done because it is far cheaper for the employer to offer short-term cash to avoid long-term headaches associated with replacing the employee. Moreover, since the employer knows that person will likely leave within six months, the employer never has to pay out in full. They may give you a 20% salary raise today, but only pay a small amount of that to you before you end up leaving, or get fired! The cost of replacing a good employee is high. A recruiter like myself charges anywhere from 25-33% of a new hire’s first year pay. The cost in time and effort training a new hire is also expensive. When you add up all these costs, what seems like a generous counter offer is actually chump change!

A counter offer can almost never remedy the reasons the employee was looking for a job in the first place. Most job seekers who leave an employer do so because of limited opportunity, a desire for more growth, to work in a new field or industry. A counter offer can do little or nothing to address any of these causes. Thus, most people who take them come to realize this within weeks or months of accepting a counter offer and end up leaving.

The potential fallout from a counter offer is similar to that of a personal relationship. When you accept a counter offer, your loyalty is obviously questioned. You’ll never be considered part of the “inner circle” again. Companies have long memories for this sort of thing, and when it is time for a raise, a promotion, etc., you will be looked at differently. If the company needs to reduce the workforce, it’s very likely your name will be on that list after accepting counter offer. The minute after you take a counter offer, it’s safe to assume the employer is already planning on how to replace you. They know from experience that you won’t stay, but if you accept the counter offer it affords them time to find a replacement in a more cost effective way.

You should rule out a counter offer before you ever look externally. If you get to the point at your current employer where you want to leave, try to address the reasons internally first. If you ask for a promotion, more responsibility, a change in duties, salary, etc., in a constructive way and are told “no”, then you can be pretty confident in your decision to leave. That way, when you give notice you’ll see the counter offer for what it is… a band-aid on a gaping wound.

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Ah… that magic moment when it’s time talk turkey and negotiate a job offer. Many job seekers are nervous, clueless, or both about how to negotiate a job offer. In order to negotiate the best possible deal, here are some tips:

Don’t Discuss Salary Expectations Up Front – in initial interviews, if asked about what you are expecting to make say nothing specific! Don’t give a range, a big number, a little number, etc. Simply say, “I’m currently earning X, and for me this move is more about the opportunity. I’d assume that if you make me an offer it would be competitive.” At the end of the interview process, the onus is on the employer to make an offer. The general rule of how to negotiate is that he who speaks first loses. By telling them what you want, you are essentially negotiating against yourself.

Assume The Initial Offer Is Negotiable – it’s very likely that there is room to negotiate the initial offer. Before doing this, you should carefully compare all aspects of the offer to your current compensation. You should also do research on the job market at your level and within your field. To negotiate properly, you need to consider factors like commuting costs, employee benefits, etc. Try to determine how the offer compares to your current compensation, and the overall market for your skills and experience before attempting to negotiate.

Negotiate For More? – if you are very excited about going to work for the new employer, and the offer is strong as-is, just accept it! However, if the offer is weak compared to your current compensation, or weak compared to a well researched market analysis, don’t be afraid to negotiate and ask for more. At this point, you probably have some idea as to what it will take for you to accept the job. If the offer is significantly below your expectations, you may want to be more aggressive in how you negotiate. Conversely, if the offer is pretty solid, you may still ask for more, but be careful of how hard you push for more.

EVERYTHING is negotiable! Keep in mind that you can negotiate more than just your salary . Bonus, vacation time, stock options, etc. are all potentially negotiable. Let’s say you ask for a higher salary and the employer says “no”. You might go back and negotiate an extra week of vacation. Alternatively, you may ask them to grant you an early performance review whereby you’ll have a chance to prove yourself at the job for 3-6 months and then get a compensation increase if they are satisfied with your performance.

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Fitness plus nutrition equals promotion! Everybody knows that being physically fit and healthy is good for you. However, people don’t often equate fitness with their career. Physical fitness holds enormous professional benefits. Here are just some of the reasons to eat more vegetables and head to the gym:

Increased Energy – fitness and nutrition increases your energy levels. If you have more energy, you’ll have more focus, more drive, and your productivity and work quality will improve.

Look and Feel Better – taking care of yourself will slim your waist, and make you look and feel more vibrant. If you feel better about yourself and have more confidence, others will notice.

Reduced Stress – Stress is a leading cause of health problems and reduced mental focus. Fitness and proper nutrition are medically proven to reduce stress levels. Lowering stress is a key component to staying healthy, and finding balance in life.

Improve Your Network – if you go to the gym near your office, you will likely bump into company managers and executives. Not coincidentally, people who have climbed the corporate ladder are likely to be taking their fitness and nutrition seriously too. Friendships formed over common interests with colleagues can be invaluable career boosts. You may get the inside track on a newly created position. A respected manager can put in a good word for you at review time. Or, you may find a strong career mentor.

Avoid Illness – fitness and proper nutrition will make you less likely to get sick. Not missing work due to illness obviously helps your career. In the long run, the benefits you gain by avoiding costly medical bills, operations, missed time from work, etc., can allow you to save more for retirement, and reinvest in yourself in the form of training and education.

No matter what you do to improve your fitness and nutrition, consistency is the key. You may not get to the gym 6 days a week and always eat a perfect diet. However, little changes can add up! Fitness plus Nutrition equals Promotion!